question
 

This may be in the wrong place, and if so I apologize. But I am currently a first year college student attending a community college, so no greek for me, but I am transferring to a university after next year. I'll most likely have junior status when I transfer, so I was wondering if it would still be possible for me to join a sorority? I was figuring probably not, but I don't know a whole ton about them yet so I thought I'd ask. I'm kind of bummed about the stuff I'm missing out on by going to community college first (finances left me no choice), and if possible I would like to get as much as I can from the two years I'll have. But if it's best to just not get my hopes up as far as sororities are concerned I'd rather know now than figure it out later.

First, choose a smaller school. Don't even think about going to a larger school and going Greek. At those places you have to be a freshman to rush and good luck if you're a sophomore. Juniors going through recruitment are just not found anywhere there.

It is not too late to go Greek! :)

What school are you considering, if I may ask? (Hee hee! AOII might be there!)

I know with AOII, we function well in small schools (big schools too, though) and you can have a GREAT Greek experience at a smaller school too! AND it'll probably be cheaper since a group might not have a chapter house (I know my chapter doesn't).

so not true
 

Please don't take that advice in the slightest bit! Don't be discouraged about going through recruitment at a large school. Juniors DO get bids and some chapters even have special reserves aside from quota just for accepting upperclassmen. Please know that you may be dropped from some sorority lists based solely on your year, but do NOT let that discourage you! I rushed and received a bid as a junior at a large school where greek life is a big deal. Actually, my sorority accepted TWO juniors this PC. You must go into recruitment with an open mind and try not to have your heart set on one group. Good luck!

Amenser, I don't think going greek should have anything to do with a person's choice of transfer institution. Her priority is to earn a college degree. She shouldn't be choosing a university based on what her chances might be the greek system.

^^^^^^^^

Ditto that!

JABGBBB is thinking of transferring to another school and has obviously thought about going Greek so I'm assuming that the school she's thinking of has a Greek system.

However, if the school she's thinking of is larger, I'm glad to find maybe she'll have a chance as an upperclassman. Thank you for correcting me. :) I hope that's the case.

^^^

Based on your posts I've read so far, you might want to step back and read some of the discussions here. Get a feel for the forums before dishing out advice because so far, yours has been...well, bad.

many years ago I went straight to Ole Miss from high school, but 85% of my friends went to jr college. When they finished junior college they went to USM and they all went Tri Delta (well the ones that decided to go through rush). They were all juniors and they all got into the sorority. I am sure that it helped that one of the girls that was rushing had an older sister who was on the homecoming court and was a tridelt too ... but still they all made it not just the one sister.

Agreed! Phi Theta Kappa is great organization to be a part of that looks good on you resume in regards to academics. When I went through the membership process I had many nice compliments about being an alumna of Phi Theta Kappa.

It is not impossible to get a bid as a junior even at the most competitive SEC schools, but juniors that get bids usually have these things in common:

1. Good to excellent GPA: You don't want another strike against you. A junior with a bad GPA is pretty much a death sentence. Take the opportunity while at community college to get the best grades you can.

2. Campus involvement and leadership: Since a junior has less time to make an impact on the chapter, chapters will want juniors whose leadership skills/experience looks promising.

3. Friends in chapters: If you have friends pulling for you, you will be more likely to get a bid.

4. An open mind: This is really important. If you are telling yourself, "I'll take a bid from any chapter, just as long as it's not bottom tier," you don't have an open mind. (I'm not saying you wouldn't have an open mind).

5. A good fit with the chapter: This is the most subjective aspect. You might feel like you fit, but the chapter might feel otherwise. Even if you are at a chapter where you don't fit, they will want you to leave with a pleasant taste in your mouth, and some will try to make you believe you'd fit in perfectly.

It can be done and that is what you need to know.

A great deal of what violetpretty stated above is excellent to take note on. Do work on the above and focus on what will make you be a standout candidate.

If finances kept you at Jr College, then make sure to budget, budget, budget if you do want to join a sorority.

This is a generalization, so take it accordingly, but if you end up at a school where Jrs don't generally get bids, you probably won't be able to afford it anyway. Our dues weren't anything near SEC $, and I struggled with a PT job.

Thanks for all the great advice everyone, I really appreciate it! I feel a little more encouraged now.

I don't have a specific school in mind just yet, that's what I'm working on now. I'd had it figured out but I'm completely changing what I'm going into, so now it's not as clear. I'll be eligible to join Phi Theta Kappa after this semester and was planning on doing that anyway, so it's cool to know that's helpful. So I guess I'll work on maintaining grades and finding some other ways to get involved.

I'm not sure how big of an issue money will be for me, it'll depend on what the dues are. I am at community college for financial reasons, but it was more unpreparedness than anything else. I thought I had money for college and then it turned out I didn't, kind of a long story, but my finances are workable if it's something I really want to do. I know it varies, but can anyone ballpark a general range of what dues tend to be? And how often are they usually owed?

Sorry if I seem dumb, this is all a relatively new idea to me so I don't know much about it yet. My knowledge of the greek system is a work in progress.